Never before in history has man shown such weakness of will as he does now. In his quest to conquer nature and gain maximum material wealth, man has lost power over himself and has forgotten how to control his desires and passions. And this, according to Jules Payot, is not surprising. After all, starting from school and further at universities, young people cultivate only mental strength, which is measured by the amount of “memorized material.” In such training of the mind, other aspects of the spirit literally atrophy. Such weakness of will, with further connivance, threatens to develop into a serious illness. The only way to combat it is self-education. This is precisely what, in the author’s opinion, should become “the most fundamental and urgent of our tasks.” More than 100 years later, this call has retained its relevance. “Education of the Will” is one of the most famous books of the French educator Jules Payot (1859-1940), which was published in 1894, by 1909 there were no less than 32 editions ( including in 1896 in Russia) and was translated into several languages.